IS executes village chieftain in Kirkuk

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Islamic State militants (IS) have killed the successor of a recently executed chieftain of a village that lies in Iraq’s contested province of Kirkuk, a security source claims.

“A week ago, they [IS] had abducted the man after which they had killed him and dumped his body,” the source said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

The man was the head of the Zirbani village of the al-Riyad sub-district that is part of the al-Hawija district in Kirkuk Province, part of the areas disputed between Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

The man was the successor of his father who IS had kidnapped and executed two months earlier, claiming he assisted the Iraqi government’s efforts to rid the country of the extremist organization, the source noted.

The same source stated that three farmers had been killed recently due to a roadside-planted Improvised Explosive Device (IED) explosion in another part of the al-Riyad subdistrict, claiming IS seeks to weaken Iraqi Security Forces’ (ISF) mobility in the area.

In a raid on the same area in May, IS had also kidnapped and killed the chieftain of another village that lies in the same subdistrict, with another security source telling al-Ghad Press the man was murdered because he provided “aid to Iraqi security forces.”

The Prime Minister of Iraq on Monday arrived in Diyala, southeast of Kirkuk, in a bid to boost morale as the ISF struggles to fight back the apparent resurgence of the militant group in the provinces of Diyala, Kirkuk, and Salahuddin.

With the US-led coalition’s support, Iraqi forces recently launched a military operation targeting IS in desert areas in disputed territories.

In the past few months, the area has witnessed an upsurge in attacks and kidnappings by the extremist group.

The most recent incident which grabbed the nation’s attention saw the abduction and execution of eight Iraqi security members by IS on the Kirkuk – Baghdad road.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany